Wall

Venezuela, once the richest country in Latin America, partly for being home to the biggest oil reserves in the world, is currently in a severe economic crisis. It has been the biggest migration movement on the continent, with over five million people leaving for other countries on the continent. When the neighbouring country Colombia becomes more saturated with Venezuelan immigrants and the chance of earning enough money to scrape by has become slim, a large portion of Venezuelans had to travel further south to Peru, Chile, and even Argentina to make a living. Since Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru all belong to the Union of South-American Nations (UNASUR), before June of 2019, the citizens of the UNASUR were exempted from requiring visas for travel within the union.

On June 15th of 2019, however, Peru Authority amended the immigration policy for Venezuelans, by requiring them to obtain a humanitarian visa before they are allowed to enter Peru. On August 25th, Ecuador followed Peru’s example and restricted Venezuelans from entering the country without a visa.

When Venezuelan immigrants arrived at Tumbes, the Peruvian town located at the border between Ecuador and Peru, many were informed for the first time of the policy change regarding visa requirement. Now a Venezuelan needs to hold a valid Peruvian visa to travel further south. In order to apply for a Peruvian visa, one had to travel back to the closest Ecuadorian city Loja, where the Peruvian consulate is established; and yet, to re-enter Ecuador, one is required to hold a valid Ecuadorian visa. This paradoxical situation left thousands of immigrants stuck at the border between Peru and Ecuador.

Neglecting the idea of a traditional documentary photographic approach, I decided to capture a tiny section of the wall in the Peruvian immigration office complex, where immigrants are forced to pause their journey as they waited for permission to enter Peruvian land. I continuously photographed this wall and the influx of immigrants that settled or rested or waited in front of it, over the course of 15 days. These photos were captured in their “found situation", where protagonists and their material belongings are not staged but already situated in their real-life settings. Interviews getting at migrants' personal stories, and of seeking the right to portray them, were conducted and obtained after the photos were taken.

Location: Tumbes, Peru

Date: 19/08 - 03/09/2019

Yajaira gives Deyaluz a farewell hug before she takes off to Lima with her daughter Maria.

Yajaira and Deyaluz, both from Puerto Cabello, are close friends since childhood. Two years ago, Yajaira alone left Venezuela to make a living in Lima, Peru, leaving her child Maria at home with her relatives. One month ago, when Yajaira heard that Deyaluz was going to relocate to Lima, Yajaira asked Deyaluz to bring her daughter Maria to Lima. Deyaluz has a valid passport with both entry and exit stamps from Ecuador, yet her entry to Peru was denied because she doesn’t have a visa for Peru. Yajaira had to travel to the Peruvian border to pick up her daughter, while Deyaluz had to make her way back to Ecuador to apply for a visa for Peru. Maria’s entry to Peru was permitted, because Yajaira holds a temporal residence permit from Peru.

Abelardo and Jonathan are cousins, who had spent four months traveling from Maturín to Tumbes. They travel by foot and stop at varied cities for temporal jobs. Their entry to Peru was rejected due to the fact they have neither passports nor Venezuelan IDs with them. Ana, with her brother and sister in law, left Caracas 6 days ago. They made their way to Tumbes by bus. They were denied from entering Peru because they don’t have visa for Peru on their passports.

Somaly and Sorely are two sisters, whose family decided to travel together to Lima Peru. They left Maracaibo one and half a months ago. They initially aimed to settle at Bogota, Colombia. After living in Bogota for one month, they realised that it has become increasingly more difficult to secure jobs in Bogota as Venezuelans. Hence they decided to travel further south to seek better employment opportunities. They were aware of the new enforcement of visa requirement from Peru, and secured visa before they left Bogota. They were permitted to enter Peru, since all adults in the family have valid passport and visas for Peru.

From left to right: Marco(Somaly’s husband). Somaly, Ismael and Iskael( children of Somaly), Sorely, Alvaro( Sorely’s husband), Alono and David( children of Sorely)

Iskael is the youngest immigrant in this family, 7 months old, just 3 months younger than his cousin Alono.

Issac, 7 years old, from Puerto Cabello, Waiting for his father Jose to return from immigration counter.

Issac and his fatter had travelled 6 days by bus, and their destination is Lima, where his Mom resides. Their entry were permitted, since Issac’s mom, who left Venezuela for Peru one year ago, holds a temporary residence permit.

Antonio (left) left Maracay a year ago. After spending almost one year in Bogota, he decided to travel to Lima by foot and hitchhiking. People call him “Mochilero” (Backpacker in Spanish), because he only has a backpack. Antonio was robbed of his passport and ID in Bogota. He paid 270 USD for the”unofficial” service to enter Peru in the same evening.

Eduardo, travels alone from Maracaibo to Lima, where his parents reside. It took him 16 days to reach Tumbes by public transport. Eduardo has a valid passport, and has an appointment for Peruvian visa application on 5th September in Loja.

Luciani and Valeri, two sisters who travelled 8 days with their grandmother and their pet Kake by bus from Calabozo. Their parents have moved to Lima one year ago. Their entry to Peru was denied, because their grandmother doesn’t have a passport, and Luciani and Valeri’s have to be accompanied by legal guardians.

Angie, from Valencia, took her three children on her trip to Lima. Luis(1 years’ old), Sofia, Sebastian. Angie’s husband had lived in Lima for a year, but doesn’t hold a temporal residence permit. They opted for “unofficial” service after spending a week at the border when their entry was finally denied.

Juan and David(with the black strip), have been travelling for week since their encounter at Rumichaca border between Colombia and Ecuador. Ruben (in red cap) met David at the Tumbes immigration office and comforted David when David was crying after being rejected to enter Peru. Ruben and Juan usually tease David by calling him “minor”. David will turn to 18 in this November. Since he is an underage, to gain permission to enter Peru, he has to either to be accompanied by an authorised adult to Ecuador to apply for a visa for Peru, or to enter the refugee camp in Tumbes until he reaches 18. Juan has a valid passport and decided to travel back to Quito Ecuador to apply for Visa. Ruben was permitted to enter Peru on September 1st, when his application as a political refugee was permitted.

From left to right: Hami, Sofia and Victor

Hami and Sofia are cousins. Hami’s mother Dyanira and Sofia’s mother Kaleris are sisters. Dyanira has moved to Lima for almost two years. Vitor is Dyanira’s husband’s cousin. Victor and Kaleris traveled from Cabimas with three children Hami, Sofia and Victoria( Kaleris’ new born baby, just 2 months old). Kaleris’s husband also lives in Lima and holds a valid temporary residence permit, hence Kaleris, Sofia and Victoria are granted entry to Peru. Since Hami is not travelling with his legal guardians, he was denied to enter Peru. Therefore Hami’s mother Dyanira had to come to the border to pick up Hami. Dyanira arrived on 2ed of September. While the rest of the family made their way to lima, Vitor has to go bank to Ecuador for visa application.

From left to right: Rosa, Gloria(on the ground), Daniel, Jhoudi, Jhouber

Rosa, together with her two children Luz and Daniel, travelled from Aragua a week ago to meet her husband in Lima. Rosa’s husband, used to be an inspector at a drilling company back in Venezuela, has now worked in Lima as a security guard for a year. Rosa and Daniel have both valid passport and visa to enter Peru. However they were rejected to enter Peru since their passport don’t have proof of evidence of leaving Ecuador legally( without the exit stamp from Ecuador immigration office).

Jhouber, from Guasdualito to Lima, travels with his partner Luz and two children Melanie and Jhoudi. They left Guasdualito half a month ago, and got robbed in Bogota. Since they don’t have any documents of identity, they applied for civil refugees.